News


Banking Technology Awards 2016 – winners unveiled

Our dazzling event gathered together over 260 banking and financial technology specialists from all over the world – recognising the excellence and innovation in the use of IT in financial services, and of course the people that make it happen!

Bancorp Bets Big on Fintech with Cube8 Innovation Lab

The Bancorp is doubling down on its commitment to fintech, unveiling plans for a new dedicated fintech innovation and development studio. Dubbed Cube8, the division will serve as a space where Bancorp will “explore unconventional–even radical–ideas in financial technologies” with the goal of creating changes or new opportunities to bolster the company’s business strategies, operational efficiency and incremental revenue, Bancorp said.

Mastercard Battles Fraud, False Declines with AI-Based Tool

Mastercard is employing artificial intelligence to improve the accuracy of real-time transaction approvals by minimizing false declines and fraud. Decision Intelligence, Mastercard’s decision and fraud detection service, is available across all markets for all Mastercard brands and products, according to the company’s Dec. 1 announcement.

FIS to Offer Zelle Network P2P Service

Financial services providers that work with FIS will be able to ramp up their real-time payments capabilities quickly now that the company is integrating with Early Warning’s Zelle Network P2P service. Using FIS PayNet and the financial technology provider’s open payment framework, the P2P service will be offered as part of FIS’s other real-time payment services, such as digital e-gifting, bill payment and external transfers.

Good Smartkarma for Société Générale’s investment research

Société Générale is partnering with Smartkarma, a curated online platform, for investment insight focused on the Asian markets. Under this global agreement, Société Générale will provide its institutional clients access to a “new form” of equity research based on “demand driven and customised content”. Société Générale says it is the first global investment bank to […]

Repay your way with Mastercard and Verifone instalment app

Mastercard has teamed with Verifone to roll out a new instalment pay application at retailers across the UK. Called Mastercard Instalments, it is designed for shopping online or in-store, and cardholders can choose their instalment option upon checking out. For example, when purchasing a new TV or flight, customers could repay it in fixed instalments. […]

New mobile bank Pepper goes interactive with Playbuzz

Bank Leumi’s new mobile banking subsidiary, Pepper, is working with digital authoring platform Playbuzz “to enhance user experience and engagement through personalised content”. Content created with Playbuzz’s suite of interactive formats, such as polls, quizzes and flip cards, will be embedded into Pepper’s banking app (to be launched in Q1 2017).

ANZ cuts to mobile payments chase with BladePay

Australia and New Zealand-based banking group, ANZ, has launched its payments system for business customers, ANZ BladePay, alongside six point-of-sale (POS) vendors who are developing customised applications for the platform. Developed in partnership with payments tech company ThumbzUp, ANZ BladePay is a handheld Android-based payment device which is capable of integrating third party applications. ANZ […]

Japan Exchange Group unveils blockchain consortium

Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), Osaka Exchange OSE) and Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC) will form a blockchain consortium of Japanese financial institutions. All three are part of Japan Exchange Group (JPX) and will continue to conduct proof-of-concept (PoC) testing based on past findings and discuss the possibility of applying blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) […]

Infosys Finacle underpins Goldman Sachs’ new lending business, Marcus

Marcus, a newly launched online lending platform of Goldman Sachs, is running on Infosys’ Finacle core software. As Banking Technology exclusively reported earlier this year, Goldman Sachs has been working with Infosys on a new digital venture. The solution, which supports “the complete consumer loan-servicing lifecycle” at Marcus, is deployed in the cloud and hosted […]

Hackers hold Valartis Bank customers to Bitcoin ransom

Customers of Valartis Bank in Liechtenstein are being held to ransom by hackers, according to German tabloid Bild. The blackmailers are demanding 10% of their account balances in Bitcoin or the customers face their personal details being sent to the media and financial watchdogs. An unusual threat but the hackers might feel the bank’s customers, […]

UK Royal Mint goes for blockchain gold

The UK’s Royal Mint will issue Royal Mint Gold (RMG) in mid-2017, a blockchain based digital record of ownership for gold stored at its bullion vault storage facility. CME Group, a derivatives marketplace, will develop, implement and operate the product’s digital trading platform which will see gold traded on an exchange using blockchain. The Royal […]

European Payments Council launches SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme

The European Payments Council (EPC) has unveiled its Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) scheme. European payment service providers (PSPs) now have one year to get ready to process the first SCT Inst transactions in November 2017. Javier Santamaría, chair of the EPC, says the launch is a “new era in […]

Sweden to launch fintech hub

Stockholm Fintech Hub – an independent not-for-profit innovation hub – will open its doors in Q1 2017. Its aim is to promote and accelerate the development of fintech, insurtech and regtech start-ups.

RBS fails Bank of England stress test

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has failed a Bank of England (BoE) stress test on how it would cope with another financial crisis. Two other banks – Barclays and Standard Chartered – also failed on some measures but do not have to submit revised capital raising plans. The tests were put in place by BoE […]

Cognizant to acquire digital agency Mirabeau

Amsterdam-based digital marketing and customer experience agency Mirabeau and its 260 staff will join Cognizant’s digital business once the acquisition is completed.

Cachet Revamps Prepaid Mobile Platform for Faster App Design, Deployment

Cachet Financial Solutions has upgraded its Pay Award-winning Select Mobile Money prepaid mobile platform with enhancements that enable program managers to design and launch branded apps more quickly, as well as provide cardholders with a new international money transfer service.

PFS Issues Prepaid Mastercard for Refugees in Greece

To improve the plight of refugees in Greece, Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) has partnered with Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian international relief organization, to launch a financial aid program in which funds are being disbursed via a Mastercard-branded prepaid card. U.K.-based payments technology provider PFS is issuing the cards.

CFPB Warns Banks about Deceptive Sales Practices

Incentives that banks offer employees to increase sales can pose “significant” risks to consumers, the CFPB warned this week in a new bulletin following record fines assessed to Wells Fargo for opening millions of unauthorized consumer accounts.

Apple Wins Mobile Wallet Victory in Australia

Apple has scored a big win in Australia for the company’s mobile wallet. That country’s competition regulator has denied a request by big local banks to collectively negotiate over the introduction of Apple Pay there.

New strategy to make UK payments fit for 21st century

Payments Strategy Forum, the first industry-wide initiative of its kind in the UK, has unveiled a new strategy for the country’s payments industry. The Forum was created by the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) in March 2015 and is tasked with planning the future of the payments sector. Last year, the current UK payment systems […]